The Road to Hell
by TheSapphireGoddess
Summary: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. This is how one woman's well intended act went so horribly wrong.


Author's Note: This came to me one night, and wouldn't leave me alone. Feel free to review, I refuse to beg!

Disclaimer: I own nothing except my teeth, and even they aren't that good.

**The Road to Hell**

As the sun set after another long day at the market, she reflected that she needed a more reliable source of income. Fortune telling was a very hit and miss affair when one threw in the variability of the muggle psyche. She didn't hate muggles, she just didn't understand them. They could be very difficult to work with, although they did pay when they wanted a reading. She knew that she could read the tarot, and that she could gaze into a crystal ball well enough. Just because she could very rarely get, or see anything, didn't mean that the muggles weren't willing to pay her for her stories.

Sybil Trelawney let herself into her dingy flat, and looked around her. She let out a sigh, "Merlin, I need a change. Why can't it be like it used to be?"

Things were getting so depressing lately. With reports of death, disappearances and the continuing rise of He-who-must-not-be-named. Even the muggles were beginning to catch on that something was wrong. She liked a good prediction of death and destruction as much as the next person, but having actual death and destruction on an almost daily basis was a bit much to deal with. She sat down with a cup of tea to think.

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The next morning Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, received an owl with an interesting job application attached. He hadn't planned on continuing with Divination after Professor Sunspot had left at the end of the year. He had not even bothered to advertise for a replacement. So having an application letter arrive was a bit of a surprise. He knew that Cassandra Trelawney had been an acclaimed and celebrated seer, so after a moments reflection, he return owled and arranged for an interview.

Sybil arrived at the Hogshead the morning before her interview. She needed to practice, because the timing would be everything. She knew that she had twinges of insight, and that occasionally she would lose some time, but she also knew that there was nothing very remarkable about her. So this would take some expert timing and planning to pull off.

Dumbledore arrived at the precise time of the appointment and knocked. He was very much surprised when the door opened to reveal a face whose eyes seemed to be four times larger then they should have been. He recovered himself quickly as she smiled vaguely and stepped aside to let him in.

Sybil didn't need these glasses, as she could see perfectly well, thank you very much. However, when wanting to befuddle others, it was best to knock them off balance a little, and cause a bit of confusion. That way, they didn't catch on to what she was doing.

She smiled vaguely at Dumbledore, and ushered him into her room. She had to play this just right. She had mentioned several times today, to no-one in particular, that she had a job interview with the Headmaster tonight. She had casually mentioned who she was, and who her great great grandmother had been. She had seen several people listening, and had smiled quietly to herself. When she had seen the same young man she had noticed on more than one occasion during the day, downstairs, she was happy.

Sybil offered Dumbledore some tea, and told him all about the skills that she possessed as a seer. She talked about all the predictions she had made, and how she was almost as gifted as her famous ancestor. Dumbledore had begun to rise when she heard the slight noise at the door. She knew that it was time.

Dumbledore had begun to make his apologies when Sybil threw back her head and rolled her eyes dramatically. This effect was greatly enhanced by her glasses. She bit down on the small vial of potion between her teeth, and her voice instantly changed, becoming deep and rough.

Dumbledore began to watch her intently.

'_The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies …'_

There was the sound of a small scuffle outside the door, but neither became distracted.

'_and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not … and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives … the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies …'_

Dumbledore had heard the small scuffle at the door, but had kept his attention firmly upon the words issuing from her mouth. His frown had deepened as she had continued, and as his concentration had intensified. When Sybil finished speaking, she blinked owlishly at Dumbledore, shook her head a little, and took a small sip of her tea.

'I'm sorry; I must have drifted off for a moment,' Sybil apologised.

Albus smiled at her, and told her that it wasn't a problem. He also told her that she had the position and that she could move into the school immediately. Sybil smiled at the Headmaster, and thanked him for his time.

Albus Dumbledore went downstairs and greeted his brother.

'I caught young Severus Snape listening at the door, and threw him out. I hope he didn't hear anything too important, Albus.'

The Headmaster frowned, and lost a little of the twinkle in his eyes.

'Oh dear,' was his only reply.

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That night as Sybil unpacked; she smiled and hummed a little tune to herself. Everything had gone so well. She couldn't have asked for anything better. She had a respectable job now, she was back in her own world, and she was away from the demands of muggle debt collectors. She had somewhere to live that was comfortable, and would be cosy once she was finished with it.

But all this was nothing to the sheer joy that she felt.

Today the papers would proclaim to the world that He-who-must-not-be-named would be defeated. It still surprised her that she had managed to say his name last night without any hesitation. She could almost feel a lessening in the prevailing depression that had hung over the magical world in the past few years, in anticipation. Hope was something that everyone needed, and her idea to lessen the burdens on her world had been an inspiration.

A small worm of doubt wriggled in the back of her mind, but she firmly pushed it away.

Hope was a good thing! Who could possibly be hurt by it?


End file.
